China just made all VoIP services on networks besides the state-run China Telecom and China Unicom illegal, effectively banning the use of Skype and other popular VoIP services in the country.

Though the details on the proclamation are still hazy, the People's Daily reports that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology deemed all VoIP services besides those offered by the state-run China Telecom and China Unicom illegal on the Chinese mainland. For the time being, Skype can still be used through their Chinese partner Tom.com, though the move will soon presumably make the site inaccessible. China similarly banned the services in 2006, only beginning to issue VoIP licenses again in 2008 in step with the Beijing Olympics. So don't take your video calling Skype app for granted! [People's Daily via Fast Company]